VOA常速英语2007-US Urges Iraq to Crack Down on Kurdish Rebels

By Cindy Saine
Washington
24 October 2007

U.S. officials are calling on Turkey and Iraq to exercise restraint, amid Turkish shelling of rebel bases inside Iraq. Turkish officials say the attacks are retaliation¹ for a rebel ambush² on Sunday that killed 12 Turkish soldiers. VOA's Cindy Saine reports from Washington, the U.S. is also calling on Iraq's Kurdish leaders to crack down on the rebels hiding in northern Iraq.

Turkish military and civilian³ leaders met Wednesday to discuss possible further action against rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

In Washington, White House spokesman Dana Perino said the United States continues to urge the Iraqis and the Turks to exercise restraint, amid escalating⁵ tensions. She said both countries agree that the common problem and the common enemy is the PKK.

The PKK has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey since 1984, and more than 30-thousand people have died in the conflict. Tensions have escalated⁶ in recent weeks following a series of attacks, and Turkey's parliament last week gave approval for military raids into northern Iraq to hunt for the rebels.

Turkish officials say the military has been firing at Kurdish rebel positions inside Iraq, but at a Pentagon briefing Wednesday, the Joint⁷ Chiefs of Staff Director for Operational Planning, Major General Richard Sherlock, said he was not aware of Turkish attacks across the Iraqi border.

"I don't know that there have been any Turkish airstrikes or cross-border operations into Iraq," said General Sherlock. "I know that there have been a small number, in the hundreds, of Turkish soldiers that have been stationed in Iraq for a number of years to observe and to gather information on the PKK."

Major General Sherlock stressed that the United States is working with both Turkey and Iraq to defuse tensions along the border.

"We are committed to security in that region," said Sherlock. "We believe this is an issue between Turkey and Iraq. We are working with both countries, as Turkey is a valued ally for a number of years, and Iraq is an ally in the war on terror. This is an issue right now that we are looking for diplomatic solutions and looking for a diplomatic answer."

Speaking to the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she had spoken with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and told him that a major incursion into Iraq would only cause more instability. But she also made clear that Iraqi Kurdish leaders have an obligation to act against the PKK.

"I spoke⁴ with Prime Minister Erdogan on Sunday, as well as with the Iraqi Kurds about this," said Condoleezza Rice. "I told Prime Minister Erdogan that the United States takes this extremely seriously. We said early on that Iraq should not be a place from which PKK terrorism can hurt Turkey."

A high-level delegation⁸ from Iraq is expected to visit Ankara for talks with Turkish officials on Thursday.

1 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

6 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。